Betaed by Solo. Thank
you again!
A Tale of Pigtails
by Sylvia
The problem is that Junno doesn't have pigtails. Koki really can't be
blamed, considering that fact.
Oh, shut up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taguchi's
the one who's happy about KAT-TUN from the start – even when everyone
else is still disappointed about missing out on a solo career, or
pissed off because what the fuck did they do to Johnny to get stuck
with these
assholes. Koki
isn't sure that the boyband gig is really his thing at all. But even
then, with all of the others moping and griping, Taguchi's enthusiastic
about everything and everyone. He bounces around and cracks jokes and
radiates energy and cheerfulness the same way a boyband member in an
anime would trail fucking sparkles.
Koki doesn't really
have an opinion on this in the beginning, except to wonder what the
hell kind of drugs the guy is on, and where Koki can get some.
Then
they all get to know each other a little better and settle into a
routine of sorts and get the snags straightened out, and eventually
Taguchi calms down some, at least when the cameras are off. He goes to
karaoke bars with Kamenashi, has lunch with Ueda, kicks a soccer ball
around with Akanishi on breaks in between practice sessions, and goes
shopping with Nakamaru.
He doesn't do anything with Koki,
though. He's not rude or anything, no, nothing like that. But he gives
him the cold shoulder – ignores him, doesn't speak to him unless Koki
speaks to him first, never suggests they do anything together the way
he does with the others.
It takes a while for it to dawn on Koki, but when it does...
Just, fuck him. Is there something wrong
with Koki? Does Taguchi think Koki's not good enough to hang out with
or what?
It's fucking annoying, that's what is is. The whole guy is fucking
annoying.
"Hey, Taguchi, you dumb fuck!"
Taguchi
turns around and smiles and waves like an idiot, or a high-school girl
or something. His hair is in his eyes and he's a little flushed from
the cold outside and his scarf is all tangled up with his jacket, and
the sight of him sends a little jab through Koki in the way that Koki's
beginning to get used to. It's sheer annoyance, obviously, because
everything about Taguchi is intensely irritating.
"Wow, you look especially horrible today. What did you do, pick your
clothes out of a goodwill bin on the way here?"
Everyone
laughs at this, and Taguchi's laugh is the loudest. Koki feels
mollified – at least Taguchi realizes how lame he is – and for a
moment, all is right with the world. Then Taguchi turns away, and Ueda
says something to him that makes him hum with interest, and they start
talking about some stupid choreography thing or whatever.
Fucking annoying asshole.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taguchi
falls asleep on Koki in the bus on the way to the next leg of their
concert tour. He just kind of sags slowly to the side until he tips
over – or so Koki guesses, because he's busy listening to music on his
ipod and doesn't even realize what's happening until his lap is full of
sleeping dweeb.
You'd think that someone who's sleeping
can't be annoying, at least unless they snore, but you'd be wrong.
Taguchi manages just fine. Maybe it's the way he breathes, or the way
he's sprawled out a little with his mouth just slightly open, all
relaxed and kittenish like he isn't a huge pain in Koki's ass. Or maybe
it's how he turns slightly in his sleep and snuggles down against
Koki's leg like he's some kind of pillow.
Koki stares down
at him for a moment and weighs the advantages of drawing a mustache and
eyepatch on Taguchi's face against those of shouting lazy ass! at the
top of his lungs, directly into Taguchi's ear.
In the end he doesn't bother to do either. He's tired, too. Besides,
he's in an unusually good mood. So really, whatever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, uhm, Koki," says Yuicchi.
"Yo,"
says Koki, and gives his new peace-sign greeting. He's wearing his
black skull-pattern bandanna and the combo is wicked cool.
Yuicchi seems preoccupied and doesn't comment on the coolness. "What's
up with this Taguchi thing?"
"Fuck,
I've been wondering that too! It's getting worse, isn't it? He gets
more and more irritating every day. I mean, it shouldn't even be
possible at this point –"
Yuicchi's mouth contracts like
he's bitten into a lemon, which he thinks is more subtle than rolling
his eyes, although it really isn't. "I was actually referring to the
way you're constantly slapping his ass these days."
And
he's off. Koki hmms and nods thoughtfully. The rhythm of Yuicchi's
monologue is kind of interesting – maybe Koki will play with it later
on and see if he can use it for the rap section in their new single.
When
Yuicchi winds down, Koki flashes him a grin. "Someone has to put him in
his place or he'd be completely unbearable. Besides, I only do it on
camera." Really, Yuicchi's a great guy, but he can be weird sometimes.
Yuicchi holds another monologue. This one's rhythm is half a beat
faster, which fits the new single even better.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's
just another photoshoot, nothing unusual unless you count that the set
is made up to look like a barn, all bales of hay and straw-covered
floor. There's also a couple of horses with long-suffering expressions.
Koki gets to hold the brown one's bridle and pet it a little, and it
warms up to him and snuffles at his chest and manages to be
surprisingly cute, for such a huge animal.
Junno leans
against the side of the black one, and the lighting is adjusted just
so, and he cocks one hip and lifts his chin and puts his shoulders back
and his t-shirt rides up to reveal a glimpse of toned abs and hipbones
and fuck
he is incredibly
annoying when he's trying to look sexy.
Next
up are the group shots, and then they're paired up. Koki takes the
opportunity to push Junno into a pile of straw, and holds him down when
he tries to get up, and makes sure the straw goes down his collar and
gets into his hair. Koki has to get his own back somehow, what with
Junno being so fucking irritating and all.
"Stay like that! Perfect!"
He looks up directly into the photographer's flash when it goes off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"By
the way, Tanaka-san and Taguchi-san are our favorite new promotional
pairing," their assistant manager announces brightly when everyone's
tried on their new costumes for the last time and is packing up to
leave. "You make it look real, guys. Well done! Take off your shirts
and stand over there, please. We need a background shot for the
concert."
Koki blinks. Junno just takes off his shirt and
stands in front of the wall, and what the hell, Koki goes to join him
because there's no way he's going to be shown up by someone so fucking
aggravating.
It's annoying how tall Junno is, and how lean
and muscular, and how long his neck is when he puts his head back like
that, and how warm his skin is against Koki's when Koki leans close. In
fact it's all so fucking annoying that Koki can't concentrate on posing
for the pictures at all. His stomach's all knotted with tension and
just, fuck.
The assistant manager snaps the pictures
and then excuses herself. The others follow her out while Koki's still
trying to find his fucking shirt. He can't remember where he put it,
and fuck it, this day is just completely fucked –
That's when Junno takes him by the shoulders, pushes him up against a
clothes rack, and kisses him.
Koki
doesn't squeak, because he never squeaks. He's not the squeaking type.
No, he's the cool, experienced and worldly-wise type who knows exactly
what to do when someone succumbs to his charms and kisses him: kiss
them back.
So he kisses Junno back. And, well. There's not
a single disagreeable thing about that kiss. Or the one after that. Or
about the way Junno moans into Koki's ear and pushes into his touch
when Koki's hand finds its way into his pants.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"But
– I thought you noticed. You must have noticed. Didn't you notice? I
thought you did. I mean, I've always had kind of, uhm," Junno babbles
just a little while later, eyes wide, a definite hint of pink shading
his cheekbones.
And – yeah – there's that familiar little
stab in Koki's guts again, except that it's really not so little
anymore, and it is familiar, but now that he thinks about it, it really
isn't much like annoyance at all.
"You've always had kind of what?"
Junno
squirms a little and looks away, but then looks back and squares his
shoulders, chin going up in determination. "A crush on you," he says,
and his smile is sudden and beautiful.
"I, you, what?" says Koki, and then stops.
He's not blushing. He is not. He is coolness itself. It's just hot in
here, is all.
"Well, I thought you must have noticed. I mean, I couldn't even talk to
you or anything."
"Oh," Koki gets out. "That's what – yeah, I noticed that. Of course I
did."
So Junno does the "struck mute" type of crushing, does he. Koki's
always been more the type to pull pigtails, himself.
And
really, Koki can't be blamed for taking a little while to catch up with
himself in this instance. How could he have known? Junno doesn't have
pigtails, after all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That Junno turns out to be a top – well. That's a story for another day.
The End.
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